Health Preservation for the White Dew Solar Term: 10 Healthy Foods to Eat.

The four seasons and twenty-four solar terms bring different climates, and thus, different methods for natural health preservation. In different seasons, it is essential to use different foods to make dietary preparations. During the White Dew season, autumn has arrived, and the principle of "nourishing yin in autumn and winter" should be followed. So, what should one eat for health preservation during White Dew? Let's take a look together.

1. Sweet Potato

Sweet potato, also known as yam, tuber, etc., is crispy and sweet when raw and can be a substitute for fruit; when cooked, it is mellow and sweet, a delight to the taste and heart. It can be used as a staple food or a vegetable, with numerous cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, pan-frying, deep-frying, and stir-frying. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) believes that sweet potatoes are sweet in flavor and neutral in nature, tonifying the spleen and replenishing qi. The *Compendium of Materia Medica* records that sweet potatoes have the effects of "nourishing deficiency and fatigue, replenishing qi and strength, strengthening the stomach, and nourishing kidney yin," making people "long-lived and less prone to illness." The modern *Chinese Materia Medica* states that they "harmonize the middle and invigorate the blood, replenish qi and promote body fluids, relax the intestines, and relieve constipation. They are indicated for edema due to spleen deficiency, sores and swellings, and intestinal dryness constipation."

Modern medicine believes that the mucilaginous substances in sweet potatoes, such as mucoprotein and mucopolysaccharides, can maintain the elasticity of the human cardiovascular walls, prevent atherosclerosis, and keep the respiratory tract, digestive tract, and joint cavities lubricated. Lysine can promote human metabolism and growth and development. Dietary fiber can stimulate the intestines, enhance intestinal peristalsis, and relieve constipation and detoxification, especially for senile constipation, and can also reduce the incidence of colon cancer.

Pan-fried Sweet Potato

2. Millet

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that millet is sweet and salty in flavor and cool in nature, with the effects of tonifying deficiency and strengthening the spleen and stomach. The *Compendium of Materia Medica* says that millet "treats nausea and vomiting, dysentery with heat, and when cooked into a porridge, it benefits the dantian, tonifies deficiency, and opens the stomach." Millet sprouts (malt), like wheat malt, are a Chinese medicinal herb that aids digestion and strengthens the stomach. It has effects such as clearing heat and thirst, strengthening the stomach and removing dampness, harmonizing the stomach and inducing sleep, making it more suitable for people with internal heat and weak spleen and stomach.

Modern medicine considers millet an excellent food with high nutritional value. Every 100 grams of millet contains 9.7 grams of protein, 1.7 grams of fat, and 76.1 grams of carbohydrates. Most grains do not contain carotene, but every 100 grams of millet contains 0.12 milligrams of carotene. The content of vitamin B1 in millet ranks first among all grains. Millet is rich in vitamins B1, B2, etc., and has the function of preventing indigestion and angular stomatitis. Millet also contains some enzymes.

Millet and Vegetable Soup

3. Grape

Grape is the fruit of a deciduous woody vine of the Vitaceae family, also known as dragon bead, crystal pearl, purtu, etc. Grapes are regarded as a precious fruit and are hailed as the world's top four fruits. They are not only nutritious and widely used: beautiful in color, fragrant in aroma, and delicious in taste, making them a fine fruit. They can be eaten fresh or processed into various products such as wine, grape juice, and raisins. Moreover, the fruit, roots, and leaves can all be used as medicine; the whole plant is a treasure.

Furthermore, resveratrol in grape skins helps lower blood lipids and enhance immunity. Tannic acid can prevent allergies, delay aging, and also has the effects of enhancing immunity and preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Anthocyanins have strong antioxidant, anti-mutagenic, and cardiovascular-protecting effects, among others.

Rye and Raisin Bread

4. Carrot

Carrot is sweet and neutral in nature, with the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, tonifying the middle and calming the organs. It is suitable for people with dry and rough skin, or those suffering from folliculitis, blackheads, keratotic eczema, etc. Carrots are rich in vitamins A, B, and C and have a mild and continuous sweating effect, which can stimulate skin metabolism, promote blood circulation, thereby making the complexion ruddy, and ensuring smooth gastrointestinal function, having a unique effect on beauty and skin health. It is best to drink carrot juice on an empty stomach, which is more beneficial for gastrointestinal absorption, promotes blood circulation, promotes the excretion of sweat gland dirt, and regulates body temperature, thus making the skin clean, healthy, delicate, and smooth.

Carrot Rice Balls

5. Autumn Pear

In winter, the fruits with health-preserving and medical properties are pears and sugarcane. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that pears can promote the production of body fluids to quench thirst, relieve cough and reduce phlegm, clear heat and reduce fire, nourish blood and generate muscle, and moisten the lungs to dryness. The abundant water in autumn pears is exactly what the skin needs. Eating pears regularly is very beneficial; it can promote appetite, aid digestion, and has diuretic, laxative, and antipyretic effects, and can be used to replenish water and nutrients during high fever. Cooked pears help the kidneys excrete uric acid and prevent gout, rheumatism, and arthritis. Sour pears have the additional effects of moistening dryness and dispelling wind, sobering up and detoxifying. In autumn, when the climate is dry, people often feel itchy skin, dry mouth and nose, and sometimes a dry cough with little phlegm. Drinking a bowl of pear juice daily can relieve autumn dryness and is beneficial to health.

Autumn Pear Paste